Trump takes Mattis’ recommendations on transgender ban

| March 24, 2018

According to Stars & Stripes, President Trump signed an order yesterday that was aligned with recommendations from Secretary of Defense James Mattis in regards to allowing transgender recruits in the ranks of the military;

The decision revokes a full ban that Trump issued last summer but disqualifies U.S. troops who have had gender reassignment surgery, as recommended by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

“By its very nature, military service requires sacrifice,” Mattis wrote in a memo to the president that was released Friday. “The men and women who serve voluntarily accept limitations on their personal liberties – freedom of speech, political activity, freedom of movement – in order to provide the military lethality and readiness necessary to ensure American citizens enjoy their personal freedoms to the fullest extent.”

Current transgender service members who have not undergone reassignment surgery should be allowed to stay, as long as they have been medically stable for 36 consecutive months in their biological sex before joining the military and are able to deploy across the world, Mattis recommended.

Mattis recommended that anyone diagnosed with gender dysphoria, the condition of wanting to transition gender, since the Obama administration ended the Pentagon’s longtime ban on transgender service in 2016 may continue to serve. The decision amounts to a “grandfathering” of those affected by the new policy.

Of course the Palm Center isn’t happy;

Applying a single standard to all service members is not only the sole legal option, but is the best way to promote military readiness. Transgender troops have been serving openly in the U.S. military for nearly two years, and have been widely praised by commanders. All available research, including the military’s own extensive study of the issue and the results of a thorough study by the RAND Corporation, indicates that inclusive policy promotes readiness by ensuring equal treatment and drawing on all available talent.

According to the Stars & Stripes article, Mattis believes that Rand Corp. study to be inaccurate;

“It referred to limited and heavily caveated data to support its conclusions, glossed over the impacts of health care costs, readiness and unit cohesion, and erroneously relied on the selective experiences of foreign militaries with different operational requirements than our own,” Mattis wrote. “In short, this policy issue has proven more complex than the prior administration or RAND assumed.”

Basically, the order grandfathers-in transgender troops who are currently in the military while it limits the number of recruits they will accept in the ranks to the more stable people. I guess they don’t want to spend tax payer dollars on a social program that benefits only a few while it sucks away training dollars.

Category: Big Pentagon

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A Proud Infidel®™

I clicked on The Palm Center link and the article began with “San Foo-foo, CA”, what a mudda-fuckin’ surprise!

The Other Whitey

I’d love to hear their ideas on how to make Russians, Norks, Red Chinese, or whoever the hell else we may someday fight give a shit about the feelings of deviant snowflakes.

A Proud Infidel®™

You and me both TOW, they’re from a burg that has light posts falling over due to corrosion from years of people urinating on them.

AW1Ed

Sort of a middle position that at least pisses off everyone equally.

Good. That’s exactly what I strove for as my squadron’s Operations LPO.

Ex-PH2

Tell me again why anyone’s tax money should go into “taking care of” people who despise themselves so much that they have to pretend to be something other than what they are?

Sapper3307

Some people self identify as pilots and A&P mechanics, we all know how that works out.

rgr769

And, that self-identification doesn’t pan out well for them if they have access to actual aircraft and attempt to fly them. They tend to find out that the last thing on their minds will be the windscreen and glare shield when they strike terra firma.

Ex-PH2

Some people owe some of us money but insurance companies don’t pay for suicides.

Sapper3307

Does this count as keeping guns out of the hand pf people with mental disorders (Bradly Manning) Lars?

dolch mann

manning is a felon. felons are barred from playing with big boy toys. Presidential pardon or not, manning would still have to tick that box on the ATF Fprm 4473, that asks if he/she/shim was ever convicted of a felony.

Hondo

Don’t think so. From the instructions for ATF Form 4473 (October 2016) for question 11.c., which deals with felony convictions (emphasis added):

EXCEPTION: A person who has been convicted of a felony, or any other crime, for which the judge could have imprisoned the person for more than one year, or who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, is not prohibited from purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm if: (1) under the law of the jurisdiction where the conviction occurred, the person has been pardoned, the conviction has been expunged or set aside, or the person has had their civil rights (the right to vote, sit on a jury, and hold public office) taken away and later restored, AND (2) the person is not prohibited by the law of the jurisdiction where the conviction occurred from receiving or possessing firearms. Persons subject to this exception, or who receive relief from disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 925(c), should answer “no” to the applicable
question
.

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/4473-part-1-firearms-transaction-record-over-counter-atf-form-53009/download

Short version: in general, a felon who has received a pardon can indeed own firearms so long as those weapons are legally permissible wherever he’s living and they are not ineligible to own them for some other reason.

You are still correct about Manning, however. Manning received a commutation of sentence – which means the unserved portion of the sentence was set aside. However, a commutation is NOT a pardon; a commutation of sentence doesn’t restore civil rights.

Retired Grunt

Someone will file a lawsuit probably in the 9th circus Court of Appeals and this order will be struck down until eventually the Supreme Court has to rule on it if they take it up at all. Anything this President does is attacked in the legal system.

Mason

Since they can’t win at the polls.

A Proud Infidel®™

I’m sure they’re out Judge Shopping as we speak.

USMC STEVE

Manning never got any pardon. He got his sentence commuted. He is now, and will forever be a convicted felon.

A lot of folks forget that a federal district court like 9th Circus has authority only in their district. Any ruling they make has zero effect on the other districts unless the case is also brought there.

2banana

What is the difference with a man identifying as a woman and a clerk identifying as a SEAL?

AW1Ed

There’s a possibility, however remote, the clerk can become a SEAL- unlike a man ever becoming a woman?

Club Manager, USA ret.

I suspect the man identifying as a woman will take dick top and bottom and a SEAL will hurt you bad if you suggest he blow you or drop the soap. Just sayin.

2/17 Air Cav

“What is the difference with a man identifying as a woman and a clerk identifying as a SEAL?”

The second one steals valor. The first one steals vulva.

NHSparky

As I stated previously, even had they thrown the gates wide, the number of TGs this would affect would be damned near zero, considering suicidal attempts and idealations are a bar to enlistment anyway, and the percentage of 18-24 yo TGs who have attempted suicide is roughly half of the demographic.

jonp

Why are you bring facts into this “because I wanna” debate, NHSparky?

NHSparky

Damn me and my pragmatic logic, I guesa.

jonp

Tranny’s have been serving openly for 2 whole fucking years!!!!! Out of the over 200 our nation and been in existence. Well, then. Let’s all bow down to the PC Police and it’s massive history of accomplishment!
I wonder if that idiot realized how stupid a statement that was.
Tranny’s are expensive and take away from unit readiness. Period

26Limabeans

“Tranny’s are expensive”

But the omnibus bill has plenty for the military to now “embrace” the issue.
Estradiol is exspensive but money is no object now.

Sorry I fatfingered the report button.

jonp

lol, there is that in the new Christmas Tree. If Chuckie can find $60 Billion for a tunnel I guess there is a few million lying around for free Tranny Surgery for all.

USMC STEVE

I also wonder who all these CO’s are that have been trumpeting the praises of the gender benders in their commands? I have yet to hear of one.

AW1Ed

‘“By its very nature, military service requires sacrifice,” Mattis wrote…’

A concept completely foreign to SJW snowflakes and cry-bullies.

Rosalee Adams

It is not a right to serve. (I realize that bathhouse Barry considered our military ‘just another job’, but it not now nor has it ever been)
Their desire to become morph into a male or female should not be funded by the American taxpayer.
Bad enough in Orygun the taxpayer is forced to pay for prison inmates to get their plumbing rearranged.

Just An Old Dog

Translation from MadDogese:
Ok, you limited number of TG’s that weaseled in under Barry’s bullshit can complete your service if you fucking don’t play the victim and actually do your job.
We aren’t going to coddle you if you don’t want to deploy or have issues that lead to you not being able to do your job.
Once you are gone we aren’t going to waste our time doing any more social experiments.
Slighty off topic:
Can anyone who is still serving give us an idea of how many of Obamas Pets are getting out due to them being told they actually have to be warfighters, as in being given the boot or retiring/ easing due to their feelings being hurt.
The military needs purged of the Clintonistas and Obamites that have infested it.
I hope that leadership is taking advantage of the current administration to cut the trash loose.

jonp

Daughter is serving and a Recruiter. I’ll ask her

jonp

BTW: She just made E6!

AW1Ed

Congrats!

hobnob

if your “change” is complete you should be able to serve, fight and die for your country!

David

Why, so you can demand personally tailored hormone treatments at all times? This is not one and done surgery, this is constantly monitored ongoing full medical treatment (which works so well that 40% of those who have had it attempt suicide.) Go home.

11B-Mailclerk

Never served one day in a combat-arms role, eh?

USMC STEVE

Wrong. If you have truly been medically mutilated, you are on meds and psych treatment for the rest of your life. That makes you non deployable and certainly unfit to serve both medically and phychologically. And when the ones still in kill themselves, the line of conduct determination damned better well be MISCONDUCT so no benefits.

jeff monroe

No hell you should not !! You do not have a right to be in the service tube steak warrior!!

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